United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Chair, United Nations Development Group Asia-Pacific and UNDP Assistant Administrator & Director, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Haoliang Xu, will be visiting Sri Lanka from February 9-12, 2014. 

 

During the visit, Mr. Xu is expected to meet and exchange views with high-level Government officials, development partners and the civil society. He will gain a perspective of the progress made by the UN System during the first year of implementation of the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2013-2017, while transitioning from a largely humanitarian to a development-focused programme in Sri Lanka, the UN office in Colombo said in a statement.

 

Mr. Xu will also engage in a policy dialogue with eminent economists and representatives from think-tanks on Sri Lanka’s development outlook, and with a cross-section of women leaders on issues pertaining to gender-based violence in Sri Lanka.

 

Further, Mr. Xu will also undertake a visit to the Northern Districts, where he will meet with Government officials, representatives from Community Based Organizations and beneficiaries and gain a first-hand understanding of the development priorities in the districts and further support needs. He will also visit UN/UNDP supported livelihood development projects on the ground.

 

A highlight of Mr. Xu’s visit will be the launching of one of the key UNDP supported programmes, ‘Strengthening Enforcement of Law, Access to Justice and Social Integration’ (SELAJSI). The Programme is a joint initiative of four Ministries, namely, the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms and the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs, implemented to ensure that gains in the justice sector are institutionalized, systemized and scaled-up.